Rebt

Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Therapy: A Comparison Rose Walker Columbia College Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy, created by Albert Ellis and Cognitive Therapy, created by Aaron Beck, were fashioned around the same time and yet have very different foundations; but that is not to say that they are completely different. They both have their foundations in cognition and behavior, stressing that incorrect thinking is the main root of people’s psychological problems. They are both focused on changing people’s perceptions of their problems through changing this thinking. Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy Rational-emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) believes that they way people interpret and process events, rather than the events themselves, contribute to people’s emotional problems. (Corey, 2009) The general aim of REBT is to give clients the tools to “restructure their philosophical and behavioral styles” (Corey, 2009 p.275). With these tools, the clients learn to overcome their ineffectual thoughts and self-defeating beliefs (Corey, 2009). Furthermore, he believes that our personalities are defined by how we interpret and interact with our environment; our beliefs about events shape our reactions to them and not the events themselves (Sherin and Caiger, 2004). Our core irrational beliefs tend to be “simplistic, absolutist, and overdramatic” (Sherin and Caiger, 2004); these dogmatic demands lead to our own self-defeat (Corey, 2009). The A-B-C model is central to REBT and provides a key to understanding the client’s feelings, thoughts and behavior surrounding an event (Corey, 2009). A is the activating event, B is the belief surrounding that event and C is consequence of it all (Corey, 2009). When an even occurs in someone’s life, they develop an irrational belief regarding this event and then their emotional and behavioral reaction this belief is the consequence (Corey, 2009). When a person’s personality has a propensity to be absolute, ridged or demanding, then they are more likely than others to develop these irrational thoughts (Gonzalez, Nelson, Gutkin, Saunders, Galloway and Shwery, 2004). The therapeutic process of REBT is one of teaching; the goal is to teach the client to look beyond their imperfections and minimize their emotional disturbances (Corey, 2009), with the ultimate goal being positive emotional adjustment (Gonzalez et al., 2004). The therapist helps the clients to tell the difference between realistic and unrealistic goals and self-defeating and self-enhancing goals (Corey, 2009). Most of the lessons taught in REBT are reinforced through homework that the client is given and is expected to practice in real life. Cognitive Therapy Like REBT, CT is “active, structured, empirical, uses homework and requires identification of problems and situations in which they occur” (Corey, 2009 p.287). CT believes that psychological problems stem from faulty thinking and failing to recognize fiction from reality (Corey, 2009). This faulty thinking has its roots in childhood and characterized by specific cognitive content located in our brains (Szentagotai, David, Lupu and Cosman, 2008). Like REBT, CT is also focused on insight and emphasizes recognizing and changing these irrational thoughts and negative behaviors (Corey, 2009). CT believes that the way that people feel and behave is determines by how they distinguish and organize their experiences (Corey, 2009). Through modification of automated thoughts, behavioral patterns can be refocused in a positive way (Szentagotai et al, 2008). Unlike REBT, CT believes that the therapeutic relationship should be warm and understanding and places more emphasis on clients finding their own answers (Corey, 2009). The therapeutic assumptions of CT are: (1) people’s internal communication is assessable to introspection, (2) client’s thoughts have highly personal meanings and (3) these meanings have to be discovered (Corey, 2009). CT posits that people’s emotional episodes can be understood through cognitive content regarding an upsetting event (Corey, 2009). With understanding and observation of behaviors, one can begin to change their core thoughts and beliefs (Szentagotai et al, 2008).The cognitive therapist believes that the most effective way to change these is through modifying inaccurate thinking and gaining more realistic thinking (Corey, 2009). Therapeutic Collaboration and Collaborative Empiricism With CT, the therapeutic relationship is a collaborative one; clients and therapist working hand-in-hand to teach the client new behaviors and thought processes. Through this collaborative effort, the client learns the influence that thinking has on their feeling, behaviors and events (Corey, 2009). Using a Socratic dialogue, cognitive therapists ask open-ended questions to achieve openness with the client and their revelations regarding personal issues (Corey, 2009). Through this reflective thought process the client and therapist work together to test the validity of their cognitions, this is what is termed collaborative empiricism (Corey, 2009) In conclusion, REBT and CT both focus on irrational thoughts and cognitions and changing these in order to positively affect an individual’s behaviors. However, where REBT takes control and teaches the client to overcome these self-defeating behaviors, CT obtains collaboration between client and therapist to modify thinking and help the clients envision a better life. With CT, the therapeutic alliance is an important part of the therapeutic process. Corey, G. (2009, Columbia College Ed.). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Staudt and Stranz (Eds.) Clinical and Counseling Psychology. Mason, Oh: Cengage Learning. Gonzalez, J., Nelson, J., Gutkin, T., Saunders, A., Galloway, A. and Shwery, C. (2004). Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy with Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 12 (4). Retrieved December 2, 2010 from Ebscohost. Sherin, J. and Caiger, L. (2004). Rational–Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Behavioral Change Model for Executive Coaching' Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. Retrieved December 2, 2010 from Ebscohost. Szentagotai, A., David, D., Lupu, V., & Cosman, D. (2008). Rational emotive behavior therapy versus cognitive therapy versus pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder: Mechanisms of change analysis. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 45(4). Retrieved December 2, 2010 from Ebscohost.